Meantime London Porter

Brewed by Meantime
Style: Porter
London, England

The first porter I’ve ever had from a corked 750, not that that makes a bit of difference - deep ruby color, with thin but lasting lace - very dry, espresso-like aroma, with some background date and fig, some chocolate - quite bright and fruity at first, but this settles as a dry, cocoa-like flavor and abundant dark roast coffee settle in - a very gentle, refined, subtle english porter - I like it very much.

Deep brown with a nice tan head. Smells of dark chocolate, coffee and nuts with a little caramel. Flavor is smooth with lots of chocolate and dark malts and coffee with little hops. FInish is still smooth with a bite of bitterness.

I thought this was great! Soft aroma of toffee and roast, fairly thin pour - brownish crimson. Off the charts drinkability. Lots of coffee, toffee and toasted caramel. Quite quaffable and tasty.

750ml corked and caged bottle - Pours brown with a creamy tan head that stays pretty well and laces the sides of the glass. Aromas of yeast, hops, light coffee, and some roasted malts. Flavor is roasted malts, caramel, a touch of chocolate and some coffee. Yeast and hops in the fore and roasted malts throughout, but the lingering sweet aftertaste of chocolate and coffee is what you are left with. Palate is medium bodied and somewhat creamy. I found this surprisingly better than I anticipated.

(750 ml corked and caged bottle: Obtained 01-Dec-05 in trade with iwantalambic, thanks Justin!) Quite a bit lighter and not at all what I was expected from a "London Porter." But that’s not meant to be a criticism, it’s just different kind of porter from what I’m used to here in the States. Perhaps not unexpected, but this beer is pretty boring when the cold bottle is just removed from the fridge, but when warm, that’s when interesting things really happen. Mild sweetness, moderate chocolate, gentle bitterness, noticeable up-front hops, a touch of yeast, but the finish is very chocolaty and absolutely delicious. Sweet, chocolate bar nose. Medium bodied, but in no way does this thin out in the finish. Carbonation is quite light, thanks to the loosely-fitting cork. The beer has a hazy, dark amber-brown body, but despite the cork issue and gentle carbonation, each pour of the beer is topped by a solid inch of bubbly, light-tan head that very gradually settles to a wide ring. Lacing is modest, but scattered around much of the glass. I have to admit, I wasn’t all that impressed when I took my first sip, but the temperature warmed and the beer warmed on me. A more subtle porter, but ultimately very tasty and enjoyable.

Clear dark amber color with a small off-white head. Sweet caramel and chocolate malt aroma. Dark roasted malt and chocolate flavor with some light bitterness.

Whole Foods, Sarasota, Fl. - beautiful corked 750 ml boittle earns a 4 in appearance. Dark amber pour, fairly light for a porter, with a soft, long lasting khaki head. Aroma has hints of chocolate, some earthiness. hint of coffee. Same vein runs through the flavor with the chooclate being the most dominant. HInt of fruitness in the back end. However, not as rich as I expected. Mouthfeel is slightly thin as well. Expected great things when seeing the package - but just a tad underwhelmed.

First rating.
Bottle of 750 ml with a cork like on the picture to the left. Bought at Swedish alcohol store "Systembolaget".
Beautiful ruby red color with a big creamy brown head. Coffee and chocolate scent. Big body and great bitterness. Big chocolaty and coffee taste and long aftertaste.
Cloudy look the second time, since the size of the bottle compared to my glass didn’t allow one pour only. Yeast sediment is to "blame", but I do love bottle conditioned beer.
Some alcohol in the scent when the beer gets a bit warm.
8/5/8/4/17=4.2

Second rating March 10, 2007.
75 cl bottle at Delirium Café, Göteborg.
Clear red-brown color, dissapearing tan/beige head. Nice smooth chocolate scent with some salty mineral in the back. Salty roasted chocolate and bitter taste. Smooth mouthfeel. Medium bitterness.
7/3/7/4/15=3.6